Children of the Heroes
by Teddy Bears And Company
Summary: In the chaos, the single moment meeting a woman and her two daughters caused Cao Cao to finally decide on the peace treaty between the three kingdoms. This is the Heroes of War children's story and their peaceful childhood together. (AU short story)
1. The Beginning

**Disclaimer**: _Dynasty Warriors_ is a video game created by Omega Force and Koei.

**Authors' note**: This short story is written by two authors: Ayumi and Kohaku.

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**The Beginning**

It was nearly the end of the civil war. Cao Cao had decided to plan an alliance with the other two strong kingdoms they have been fighting against for years. For many days, he and his men were discussing the topic of a truce. Cao Cao opposed to the idea first because he wanted the control the whole land with absolute power and control to create law in one country and order. And it was just today, he made up his mind the moment he saw a beautiful young lady with her two very young daughters.

Cao Cao was riding on his black-furred horse, going through a half torn city covered in sandy smokes and ruins. It was an endless sight of beggars on the streets as they made way for Cao Cao. His eyes ignored the people around him, who were all weak and begging weakly for money as he rode by. This scene pained him, but he was strong emotionally. He wanted to end this chaos as soon as possible. To end everything with Shu and Wu.

"Please…" a gentle, weak voice cried out.

The Lord of Wei glanced to the right and he stopped his horse. In front of a small, worn out house, a young lady was kneeling on the stoned ground with her head lowered. Her black hair was long and her bangs covered most of her face. By her two sides, one little girl was hugging the young lady and the other little girl sitting on the ground on her ankles. And in front of these females was a dead body with a white blanket over it.

The mother of the girls bowed without looking up. "Please…" she tried to keep her voice loud enough. "I need money to bury my husband… in return, we'll be your slaves for eternity…" It did not matter who it was, she needed help. She repeated this over and over, getting weaker each time.

Just with this image in front of him, Cao Cao made his decision to actually consider the alliance. His eyes stared at the two little girls. The three-year-old girl had short dark gray hair and the two-year-old had short black hair. They both stared up at Cao Cao with innocent but tired eyes, whom had been there for a minute now.

Enough of the sacrifices, the people cannot live through another battle of the war. Cao Cao moved off of his horse and landed on his feet. The young lady slightly lifted her head when she saw someone's feet walking up to her. She looked up and her bangs fell pass her cheeks. Gazing into Cao Cao's eyes, she noticed he reached out his hand to her. Now, what would happen if she took it? Would he make her his wife? Marry her daughters into other families? Or would they simply become slaves to his family?

But there was goodness in Cao Cao's gaze and she continued to stare right back.

The three-year-old girl, who was sitting on her ankles, got up and reached for the strange man's hand. She had grabbed a hold two of his fingers and held it weakly into her palms. She simply stared blankly and said nothing other than the gaze of hope. Cao Cao looked at the dark gray haired girl and had a soft scoff as if he could read her thoughts. He picked her up into his arms gently as the mother gasped a little.

He let out a small smile, never minding the smell of dirt from the child, now directed his view at the mother. He then stated, "Come with me." He looked at the young lady seriously. "I will bury your husband… and the three of you may live with me."

The mother smiled and her eyes becoming teary. Cao Cao waited for her to response and she nodded, grabbing her sleepy two-year-old daughter into her own arms. Picking the child up and standing up as strongly as she could, she bowed. "Thank you, my Lord," she breathed with hope.

In the same city, Xiahou Yuan was pacing back and forth by the entrance of the city walls. He looked into the streets of the city and smiled happily as soon as he saw Cao Cao. Taking a few steps forward, he paused when he realized Cao Cao was with a few people. "…Huh?" he scratched the back of his head.

In Cao Cao's arms, he was carrying the three-year-old girl sleeping soundly and he walked slowly. His hand held the reins to lead the horse, which the young lady was riding on with her two-year-old girl in her arms. Cao Cao still wore a serious face when he approached Xiahou Yuan. "I have thought it over," he started to say.

Xiahou Yuan blinked a couple of times, looking confused. "Ah… Lord Cao Cao?" he looked at him and the females back and forth.

And that was the beginning of a path to peace.

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**Kohaku's Note**: The future chapters get longer as the short story continues.


	2. Three Years Later

**Disclaimer**: _Dynasty Warriors_ is a video game created by Omega Force and Koei.

* * *

**Three Years Later**

In the small palace of the Wei Kingdom, a six-year-old girl with dark gray hair kicked the ball. The length of her short hair did not seem to have grown. Her dress was purple. She was playing in the garden with her five-year-old sister, who had black longer hair and wore a yellow dress. The length of her hair touched her shoulders and was left untied. The one who was watching over the two girls was Cao Ren.

The six-year-old girl kicked the ball again when the five-year-old tried to steal it. "Uncle Ren!" the six-year-old child happily called.

Cao Ren watched the ball rolled to his feet and he picked it up with a smile. "You're asking me to play, Tao Rongna?" he questioned, feeling a bit awkward.

The six-year-old girl nodded, "Playing with only Kaimei was boring me!"

Tao Kaimei, the black haired five-year-old, pouted, "What? You're saying I'm boring?"

"Having more people to play with is more fun!" Tao Rongna giggled, running to Cao Ren's leg purposely. "Play with us, Uncle Ren!"

Tao Kaimei ran up to them, but kept her distance. "Oh, that's a good idea too," she smiled cheerfully.

The man was at loss and was not sure if he should try to play with them or not. Though this was not the first time Tao Rongna wanted him to join them. "Actually, it's almost time to head back inside," he realized, patting on Tao Rongna's head and continued to mess up her hair.

"Ehhhh?" both girls whined with a puppy face. The sky was still blue and the wind was pleasing. They wanted to play some more.

"Rongna, Kaimei!" a familiar lovely voice was heard.

Cao Ren looked over his shoulder while the two girls ran off to follow the voice. He then saw the mother of the two children along with Cao Cao. There was a young boy behind Cao Cao too and those three had just exited a door. "Lord Cao Cao," Cao Ren smiled, walking to follow the two girls.

The mother was dressed in white and blue, wearing lightweight hair accessories. Tao Kaimei ran into the arms of her mother and asked, "Mom, are you here to play with us today?" The mother smiled with a soft chuckle and Tao Kaimei just noticed the other child who she never seen before.

"Rongna, Kaimei," Cao Cao put his hands on shoulders of little boy and slightly pushed him forward. "This is my son, Cao Pi."

The two girls stared at the boy who seemed older than them. Perhaps by three to four years. Who knows? The boy didn't say anything to them and the three children merely stared at each other silently, observing one another as if animal pets were meeting for the first time.

Cao Cao looked at the children and chuckled lightly, "My son has always been on the other side of the Palace, so you two never got to meet him until now." He told the two girls.

"Is he going to play with us?" Tao Rongna pointed with a smile now.

While Cao Pi seemed displeased, Cao Cao chuckled, "Yes, of course. Why not?"

"And from today onwards," the mother smiled, touching Tao Kaimei's nose playfully. "Cao Pi will be your big brother."

"What?" Tao Kaimei's eyes widened in shock. "Really? How?"

And as Cao Pi looked more uncomfortable, Cao Cao replied, "Yes. That is because your mother and I will be married next month, this makes the three of you siblings now."

Laughing lightly, Cao Ren said, "That's wonderful news, isn't it, girls?"

Tao Rongna giggled, taking Cao Pi's stiff hand into her own. "Yay! We have a big bro now!" she cheered, shaking his hand up and down. "You can call me Rongna, big bro!" She pointed to Tao Kaimei, "And you can call her Kaimei!"

The boy mumbled something as he snatched his hand back. Tao Kaimei made an angry face, simply reacting to how Cao Pi was being grumpy.

"Cao Ren," Cao Cao looked serious now.

Cao Ren walked around the children and then Cao Cao and him strolled off a little and talked quietly about their business. The mother let Tao Kaimei down and joined the two men quietly. Cao Pi looked at the two girls calmly and said nothing.

"Oh!" Tao Rongna turned around, looking for the ball. She smiled brightly and hurried to pick it up. Twirling happily with the ball in her hands, she threw it into the air. "Let's play, big bro!"

Just as Tao Rongna kicked the ball in the air, it flew over to Tao Kaimei instead. Before the younger sister could kick it back, Cao Pi easily stole the ball and kicked it while he ran off. "H-Hey!" Tao Kaimei stumbled after him.

"Two against one then?" Tao Rongna laughed cheerfully, chasing after Cao Pi and the ball.

The three adults all turned around and watched the kids running around the garden loudly.

Tao Kaimei had just tackled Cao Pi and the two of them fell to the ground roughly. Her yellow dress was stained with green, but she only focused on holding onto the boy's waist and he glared at her. "Let go!" he demanded, trying to pry her off.

"GO, RONGNA!" Tao Kaimei screamed as if their lives were on the line. "Take the ball to the goal and we'll win!"

Now kicking the ball, Tao Rongna looked around nervously. "Where's the goal?!" she shouted back over to her.

"Just go!" Tao Kaimei pointed. Cao Pi slipped out of her grip without trying to kick her off and got up to dash after Tao Rongna.

With a sigh, Cao Ren smiled to Cao Cao, "I hope they'll have a bright future together, Lord Cao Cao… and I wish you and your future wife peaceful days with these children."

The mother of the Tao sisters slowly smiled to Cao Cao, who wrapped his arm around her waist from the back. "I can't thank you enough, Lord Cao Cao," she closed her eyes, leaning her head softly against the side of his head.

Cao Cao took her hand with his other hand and chuckled. "There's no need to thank me," he told her. His eyes looked over to the children and Cao Pi had just stolen the ball from Tao Rongna. He was merciless and continued to kick the ball up into the air. "It was a blessing to meet the three of you…"

"Father!" Tao Rongna called with a pout. "Big bro is playing all by himself!"

A bit taken back, Cao Cao had a sudden smile on his face and laughed quietly. "She's already calling me _father_," he cleared his throat, feeling like something was choking him. Perhaps he was feeling nervous and that it was too good to be true. "I don't think I'm fit to have such adorable daughters."

Cao Ren and the mother of the Tao sisters laughed lightly at the same time. But then their laugh stopped as soon as Tao Kaimei had kicked the ball from Cao Pi rather hard. It flew out the doors of the outer wall and hit someone in the head.

"Ah," Tao Kaimei blinked, looking rather tense.

There were two other boys, around the girls' age maybe, who seemed to have just run by. The ball that had hit one of them was the younger one. He rubbed his head and seemed to be in a daze.

"Zhao, you all right?" the older boy asked, looking at his head while leaning to the side.

Quickly going to Tao Kaimei's side, Tao Rongna grabbed her sister's arm. "You have to apologize!" Tao Rongna hissed with a sweat.

Tao Kaimei glanced to Cao Pi, "You too, Cao Pi!" He stood where he was and folded his arms to his chest.

Before Tao Rongna could bring some sense to her sister, she looked away and saw a woman walking and standing behind the two other boys. With brown hair, the woman simply smiled to the little girls and Tao Rongna gulped at the woman's heavy gaze.

"See, Shi, Zhao," the woman put her hands on the two boys' shoulders. "I told you two many times not to run around here."

At the same time as the two boys seem uneasy about the woman's hands, Tao Rongna stepped back. "Um, I'm sorry, but my sister didn't mean to do that just now…" she said.

"U-Uh, yeah, sorry," Tao Kaimei bowed halfway.

The brown haired woman smiled at the two rather sweetly. "You two girls must be the Tao sisters," she stared at them. "Tao Rongna and Tao Kaimei, is it?"

"Yes!" the girls stood up straight.

"Heh… my name is Zhang Chunhua," she slightly tilted her head. Patting on the two boys' back, she added, "And these two are my beloved sons, Sima Shi and Sima Zhao."

"H-Hello," Tao Rongna smiled a little, waving her hand at the two brothers. She didn't know there were more kids in the palace. So it was a nice experience. They were always on the other side of the palace, which was quiet and only filled with the servants and workers.

"Tao Kaimei," Zhang Chunhua's lips curled up directly at the younger girl. The black haired girl blinked and looked scared. "I believe the one you should be apologizing to is Zhao."

With no hesitation, Tao Kaimei bowed once again. "I'm sorry, _Xiao_ Zhao."

"Hey, what?" Sima Zhao gave her a weird look. "Why are you calling me _little_?" The younger brother pointed to himself.

Tao Kaimei stood up straight and looked normal again. "Because… I'm taller?" she shrugged while Tao Rongna picked up the ball nearby.

Sima Zhao looked away with his eyes rolling. It was then Sima Shi inquired, "Mother, can we go play now?"

The boys' mother chuckled and patted their backs one more time, but harder this time, which caused them to take a step forward. "Why don't you play with the three of them here?" she suggested with another kind smile.

Tao Rongna nodded in agreement, "Let's all play together!" She rushed over to the Sima brothers and gently threw the ball to Sima Shi first. "And we'll be careful this time."

Cao Pi glanced back to where his father was. It appeared Cao Ren had gone somewhere and Cao Cao was with the Tao sisters' mother. Cao Cao nodded to his son and Cao Pi frowned as he looked away back to the other kids. To his surprise, Sima Shi kicked the ball over the girls and headed to Cao Pi. So then without another thought, Cao Pi went and kicked the ball back. But then it bounced off of Tao Rongna's legs and rolled away.

"It's mine!" Sima Shi quickly ran off after it, slightly bumping to Tao Kaimei. She lightly glared and ran as fast as she could and then purposely bump into him. Sima Shi almost fell over and gave her a light glare when she ran ahead.

"Don't play rough now," Zhang Chunhua called to the kids, who all ran for the ball. It looked like no one was on any team so they were just kicking it more or less. Zhang Chunhua smiled with a sigh, "I can't wait to watch all of you grow up…"

Tao Rongna laughed, slowing down her pace, "Kaimei, kick it over here!"

Despite the fact that Sima Zhao having the ball, and slightly hitting Cao Pi's shoulder, Sima Zhao passed the ball to Tao Kaimei. "You and I will be team number one!" he grinned happily at her.

Before Tao Kaimei would react to his sudden decision, Tao Rongna shouted, "What?! Then big bro is on my team!" Cao Pi gave her a look before she ran by his side happily, jumping onto his back and climbed on him like a monkey. Cao Pi could only make a disapproving face when she did that.

Sima Shi pouted almost childishly at them from where he was standing. "Then what about me?" he called after them, who all were kicking the ball back and forth.

Tao Rongna sighed, "You're right, we're uneven! We just need another player!" She crossed her arms and sighed. She then looked at Sima Shi happily, "WELL just join the winning side either way, Shi!"

Giving her a dry look, Sima Shi said nothing and charged in. Zhang Chunhua joined Cao Cao and the Tao sisters' mother at the other side, joining in the laughter with the two parents. Zhang Chunhua looked at the Tao mother, "It seems that we're finally complete again."

Cao Cao nodded, "Yes. Rongna and Kaimei fit right in perfectly." He agreed as the five children were shouting at each other as the ball was flying all over the place despite the fact they had teams.


	3. One Month Later

**Disclaimer**: _Dynasty Warriors_ is a video game created by Omega Force and Koei.

**Author's note**: I (Kohaku) had a dream this morning… that I was protecting Cao Cao and his officers. I think I was some kind of double agent and I was on the Wei Army's side. In the dream, Cao Cao was unconscious and his officers were trying to get him to safety… XD When I woke up, I realized, "Oh, yeah… I should put up the next chapter now." So, here it is!

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**One Month Later, the day after the Wedding…**

Tao Kaimei got a rude awakening in the morning. Actually… the sun hadn't even come out yet! Tao Rongna jumped on her bed excitedly. "WAKE UP, KAIMEI! TODAY WE OFFICIALLY ARE CAO!"

The second sister groaned as she turned onto the other side of her body. They both had finally got their two beds together in a large room filled with toys. "Urghhhh…" Tao Kaimei groaned, covering her head with her arms.

Tao Rongna laid over Tao Kaimei, who groaned some more. "Come on!" the oldest sister beamed. "TODAY IS SCHOOL! We finally get to study with big bro, Shi, and Zhao now!"

Mumbles could only be heard from the other sister, who didn't sound enthusiastic.

Shortly afterward, the two sisters got ready as soon as the younger sister had finally rolled off the bed. One was overly hyper and the other was overly tired. Tao Rongna literally dashed to her door when she heard the knock.

Tao Kaimei shouted from the other side, "WAIT! I'm not done changing, Rongna!"

Too late. The older sister opened the door with a big grin, "Zhao! Come to get us like you promised yesterday, huh?"

Sima Zhao yawned, "Yeah…" He paused for a second and his sleepy eyes stared at her. "Shi told me I should come since I… promised and stuff."

The younger sister finally came out, tucking her yellow shirt under her black sash. "Okay. I'm ready I guess." She lazily said. She looked at Sima Zhao who too wasn't too happy about being up so early. "I cannot believe we're going to do this for the rest of our lives," Tao Kaimei frowned to the ground.

Tao Rongna nudged the younger one, "Oh! Come on! We get to learn how to write, read, and FIGHT!" She looked rather happy. "Father said he would teach me personally!"

"Good for you," Tao Kaimei yawned at the same time as Sima Zhao.

The three of them soon strolled down the hall as Tao Rongna continued to go on and on about learning how to fight and go to war to protect people. Sima Zhao led them to the study room and both Sima Shi and Cao Pi were already comfortably in the front seats. Both Tao Kaimei and Sima Zhao took the two seats in the back and Tao Rongna grabbed the seat in the middle –to her right was an empty seat.

"Do we have another kid here too?" Tao Rongna asked no one in particular.

Sima Shi looked back, "Xiahou Ba."

The second sister tried to think who that was, "Never heard of him."

Cao Pi glanced back this time, "Uncle Yuan's son."

Both sisters shrugged. "We didn't know."

Sima Zhao yawned for a few seconds, "He's still very young."

Speaking of the devil, Xiahou Ba walked in with small steps with a dead serious look on his face. He walked in quietly, while the two sisters observed seriously, and almost seemed like he would stumble on his own two feet. But he made it to his seat rather quietly.

Tao Rongna looked at him boldly and stared at him curiously. When he finally noticed, he gasped nervously, "Y-yes?!"

She laughed loudly, "I never knew Uncle Yuan had a son! Hi! I'm Tao Rongna!" She smiled proudly as she pointed to herself.

The short boy nodded, "U-uh, yeah. I know." He scratched his cheeks, "Father already showed me your sister and you during the wedding… but you two looked so busy so I… didn't come to say … hi."

Tao Kaimei snorted, looking away quickly. Her big sister glared her way and then smiled at Xiahou Ba happily. "Oh, that's too bad! We both were just very happy!"

The boy nodded to Tao Rongna, "I know."

Before the conversation could continue, Sima Yi opened the doors on the other side of the room widely and harshly, scaring Tao Rongna and Tao Kaimei at the abrupt sound. It seemed the boys were used to it however. "Alright, kids," Sima Yi walked in with notebooks in his left arm.

"Who's he, Xiao Zhao?" Tao Kaimei whispered to him on her right.

Sima Zhao grinned uneasily, "My dad…" The only response Tao Kaimei gave was widening her eyes with disbelieves.

The serious glare Sima Yi shot out kept the kids quiet immediately. "Today, we'll be learning reading and writing," Sima Yi announced. He walked to the front seats, dropping notebooks on Cao Pi and Sima Shi's desk. "We'll learn about philosophy next week," he said, walking around to the middle seats. He dropped notebooks in front of Tao Rongna and Xiahou Ba. "So you all better not lag behind!" Finally he went and dropped the last two notebooks to where Sima Zhao and Tao Kaimei were.

'_Oooo, sounds tough_,' Tao Rongna winced at the piles on her desk. This will be a long day.

Tao Kaimei stared blankly, '_Philo…what_?' She had no idea what word Sima Yi used. It sounded hard and she was not looking forward to it.

"Cao Pi had already learned the first ten lessons with me," Sima Yi said, going over to the larger desk in the front. He turned to them and smiled thinly, "He was supposed to learn by himself, but then the newly wife of Lord Cao Cao brought up the idea to have all of you grow and learn together. So here we are… Don't disappoint me!"

"Yes sir!" Xiahou Ba saluted sincerely.

Giggling, Tao Rongna whispered, "Then this means big bro should know a little by now. Maybe we can ask him for help later if this is too difficult."

Cao Pi, who was just in front of her, glanced over his left shoulder. "Learn by yourself," he said rather coldly.

She pouted, "Ohhh…"

Sima Shi almost snorted, "We don't need Cao Pi's help anyway."

"I don't know about that…" Sima Zhao stared at the ceiling with boredom.

"Alright, quiet you imbeciles," Sima Yi loudly said, sitting on the chair behind him.

"Imbro what?" Tao Kaimei wondered out loud. There were so much hard words their teacher was saying. Would she even remember what they mean in the end?

As the first lesson being taught by Sima Yi finally ended, he led them outdoors where Xiahou Yuan was waiting for them. "Daddy!" Xiahou Ba went ahead of the other kids with his arms wide open. Laughing cheerfully, Xiahou Yuan kneeled down and embraced his son. While they had a little reunion, Sima Yi patted his two sons' heads and then he made his turn to leave the kids in the hands of their next teacher.

So now, during the second lesson of the day in a large opened court yard with lots of arrows and bows lying around and targets standing around with a couple of arrows already in them…

An arrow shot right pass in front of Sima Shi's face. He backed away and tried to remain calm as his eyes followed a nervous giggle. "Tao Kaimei, was that you?" Sima Shi lightly glared, pointing accusingly.

"I didn't mean it!" Tao Kaimei quickly defended herself, waving her free hand around the air. Across from her was her target, which she had not yet able to shoot a single arrow into. As for Sima Shi's target, there were already three of them, however, not directly in the center of the red dot.

Meanwhile on the opposite end, Xiahou Ba had not been able to even pull one arrow further than a foot away from him. He sighed as Sima Zhao could only laugh at him, being distracted by the little boy and have not shot a single arrow yet himself.

Tao Rongna was having her own issues as she was next to Cao Pi's target. Her arrows kept shooting towards the right where Cao Pi's target stand was and hitting it instead of her own. Her arrows never landed on his target as they bounced off from it. Cao Pi had shot the most arrows onto the target and even getting a couple of arrows into the center of the target.

Cao Pi shot another arrow and this time, he knew it was going straight for the center, however all of a sudden, Tao Rongna's arrow came out of nowhere and pushed both arrows to the side, landing on the further ring of the target together. Cao Pi instantly glared to his sister as she cheered, "YAY! I MADE MY FIRST HIT!"

"It didn't even go straight!" He complained and pointed to her own target that had no arrows.

Getting an idea from the two of them, Tao Kaimei directed her arrow and bow over to Sima Zhao's target. He saw her right away and sweat dropped, "Ah…" When she pulled her arrow weakly, she let it go and the arrow flew over his target. "That's not going to work," Sima Zhao sighed to her.

Tao Kaimei wanted to throw her bow down, but remained coolheaded as possible. "This is too hard!" she whined. Her arms were hurting and her fingers twitched with pain.

"Then give up," Sima Shi encouraged, going back to his own target with an arrow in hand.

"Now, now," Xiahou Yuan beamed. He walked over to Tao Kaimei and patted on top of her head. "It takes time and practice, Kaimei. Take your time."

She pouted and her eyes lifted up to meet his gaze while he took his hand away from her head. "If you say so," she wanted to frown.

And so, they practiced for another half an hour…

The kids moved onto their next destination. Fine Arts with Zhang Chunhua. The woman waited in a room filled with paintings and poetry scrolls. In the center were tables set up where all of the kids were sitting on the ground. In front of them were a couple of brushes, black ink stone and bowl, plus a couple of large papers. The kids all looked up at the brown haired woman as she picked up her own brush, "Today, we're learning calligraphy."

Sima Zhao looked away and whispered under his breathe, "Boring…"

Cao Pi and Sima Shi both looked ready and had intense look in their eyes. While the rest were just confused and unsure what the class would be like. And then a flying brush struck right pass Sima Zhao's eyes and he snapped his eyes open wide to his mother nervously.

"Let's begin with the first lesson," the woman smiled sweetly. "Pick up your brushes everyone. Do not disappoint me."

The way Zhang Chunhua threatened her son when he said it was 'boring' made Tao Kaimei cringe. '_I would never want her as my mom_!' Tao Kaimei thought uneasily, picking up her brush as carefully as possible.

Tao Rongna glanced to Xiahou Ba, who nervously took his own brush and his eyes full of confusion. The two of them made eye contact since they were sitting next to each other yet again. She smiled warmly and he returned with a more of a confident smile. "Let's do our best!" she whispered.

"Y-Yes," he nodded.

"And no talking when I am teaching," Zhang Chunhua informed. The kids all sat up straight and her body turned to the paperboard behind her. "Let us begin…"

An hour later…

"Are we done with lessons yet?" Tao Kaimei whined, nudging to Sima Zhao next to her. The young children were walking down the hall together, heading over to another room.

"I wish," Sima Zhao sighed depressingly. He and her were behind the other kids.

The one leading them was Cao Pi. He walked alone and Sima Shi was just a little behind him on the right. Tao Rongna and Xiahou Ba were in the middle of the walking group.

"What are we going to learn this time?" Tao Rongna inquired, blinking to Xiahou Ba.

The shortest kid made a fist and determinedly beamed at her. "Cao Ren will be teaching us some military training and martial arts!" he answered her proudly. Though, there was a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Eh?" Tao Kaimei gasped, almost stumbling. "We're going to use more strength today?"

Sima Zhao nodded sadly, "Yep."

"Aw, man!" Tao Kaimei slapped her own face

Cao Pi looked over his shoulders to direct his gaze to them. "Quit whining," he said rather annoyingly. Tao Kaimei and Sima Zhao both quieted and Cao Pi averted his eyes. "Just quit if you don't like to learn."

"Ah… haha," Sima Zhao scratched his face with his head to the side. "Mom would kill me if I said I wanted to quit."

Sima Shi almost sneered, "Good to know you're not quitting because of mom, Zhao." Because their mom would really have his head on the spot.

Tao Rongna turned around in her spot, walking backwards to smile to her younger sister. "Come on, Kaimei!" she cheered. "It's only the first day! You can do better than that!"

"Fine…" Tao Kaimei sighed to herself with her eyes closed.

Finally, they arrived to a large opened area. It was rather emptied as well. Cao Ren greeted them with a nod, who was standing in the center of the room. The kids lined up side by side, but Tao Kaimei nudged Sima Zhao to keep their distances. He raised an eyebrow at her and moved to respect her personal space.

"Good to see all of you doing well," Cao Ren started to say, his hands behind him. "First thing first, Tao Rongna, Tao Kaimei, and Xiahou Ba have just started learning these kinds of lessons today. Please do not be rough with them, do you understand, boys?"

"Yes," Cao Pi and the two Sima boys replied in their own way.

With a faint smile, Cao Ren remained where he was. "It is also important to bear in mind to never leave your comrades in arms. Always remember to lend a helping hand," Cao Ren stated.

"Yes," the same three boys responded in unison again.

Cao Ren took a step forward, "With that clear, we will start with the basics. Cao Pi, demonstrate for us."

Cao Pi walked forward and Tao Rongna watched carefully. As for the other sister, she suddenly felt impatient about all of this. On the other hand, as long as they all learned martial arts, they could protect just about anyone. So the lesson being taught by Cao Ren meant more than the other previous lessons.

As for the last lesson of the day, Cao Ren had walked with the kids outside to the back of the palace. It was only a part of the palace and they walked to a field where there were ponies standing around.

"Uncle Dun!" Xiahou Ba waved happily.

The tall man looked back and then turned his body as the group of kids wandered over to him. Cao Ren had stayed by the back door and left them in Xiahou Dun's care. The kids ran to Xiahou Dun who had a group of ponies and his tall, brown furred horse with him.

While Xiahou Dun was explaining how to ride a pony and horse properly, Tao Kaimei could not focus. Her eyes were glued onto her Uncle Dun's eye patch throughout the whole beginning of the lesson.

Suddenly, Xiahou Dun turned to her with a stern look, "Kaimei."

The girl snapped out of her daze and looked frightened by the man's glare to her, "Y-yes, Uncle Dun?!"

He crossed his arms at her, "Have you been listening at all to the lecture?"

Sima Zhao began to laugh quietly in the background as Tao Kaimei gulped. "Uh- well, you see Uncle…"

"Spill it."

"Y-Yes sir!" Tao Kaimei tried not to cry, "I have been wondering… about your eye patch…"

Cao Pi slapped his forehead at her stupid question that had nothing to do with the riding lesson. Sima Shi let out a sigh, Sima Zhao continued to snicker, Tao Rongna gasped, while Xiahou Ba looked rather confused and curious too.

Xiahou Dun smirked as he pointed to his eye with the eye patch, "If you really want to know the truth, this is the results of war. An arrow struck—"

The girl panicked and shook her hands at him, "OKAY! Never mind! I don't want to know!"

The uncle chuckled, "But you didn't hear the best part yet."

Tao Kaimei shook her head now frantically, "That's okay, Uncle! I don't need to know!"

Tao Rongna raised her hand, "I want to know!"

"An arrow stuck _here_…" he tapped on the eye patch. "After I pulled the arrow out, I ate my eyeball."

All the kids grew silent in shock and Xiahou Dun just had a serious look on his face.

The sun was finally setting in the sky and dinner was being made. All of the children were in the Grand Study Hall, lying down in a circle with their backs on the ground and face up. With tired dead looks on their faces, they didn't speak –and when they did, they groaned in pain.

Tao Kaimei groaned the hardest, "That was… only the first day…"

Her big sister could barely nod, "It wasn't hard at first, but an entire day of education and training…"

Xiahou Ba began to cry a little bit, "It's too hard!"

Slightly annoyed, Cao Pi sighed as he stared at the ceiling. "Get used to it," he said.

Sima Zhao turned a little bit to Cao Pi, "Easy for you to say! You've been doing this longer than us!"

Closing his eyes, Sima Shi told them, "Just be quiet… all of you. I need my nap."

Tao Rongna giggled, "Yeah! A nap before dinner is a great idea!"

The other Tao sister nodded in agreement, "Yeah… nap…"

Sima Zhao chuckled, "Wonderful idea! I want to nap too!"

Without another word spoken, Cao Pi closed his eyes and Xiahou Ba turned around to look at his buddies. They all fell asleep so fast, even Sima Zhao who seemed to have a lot of energy at first. Xiahou Ba's eyes grew drowsy and he fell asleep right after.

Quietly, the door to the Study Hall opened and it was the Tao sisters' mother. When she noticed the kids all were sleeping soundly, she smiled and decided to come back a couple of minutes later to get them for dinner. "Must have been a long day." She figured.


End file.
